An exploding bomb or landmine has killed ten young girls in eastern Afghanistan.

Afghan volunteers carry the body one of the girls who were killed when a landmine exploded while they were collecting firewood. AFP / Noorullah Shirzada Source: AFP

An unexploded mine in Afghanistan. Source: AP

Ten young girls were killed when a landmine exploded as they were gathering firewood outside their village in eastern Afghanistan today, an official said.

The girls died when one of them accidentally struck the mine with an axe, Chaparhar district governor Mohammad Sediq Dawlatzai said.

The girls ranged in age from 9 to 13 years and all came from different families, he said. Two others were seriously wounded and are in critical condition at a hospital, he added.

"An old mine left over from the 1980's war against Soviet troops exploded, killing 10 girls and wounding two others," he said.

Most of the bodies were so badly shattered that they could hardly be recognised, Dawlatzai said.

But Nangarhar provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said that the mine was planted by "the enemies of Afghanistan" - a reference to Taliban insurgents - even if it had been in that spot for some time.

Since 1989, when the Soviets withdrew after a 10-year military presence, nearly 700,000 mines and more than 15 million explosive left-overs from decades of war have been destroyed, according to UN figures.

But despite international clearance efforts, more than three decades of war have left Afghanistan one of the most heavily-mined countries in the world.

The explosives were placed during three recent conflicts - the 1980's war against the Russians, the 1990's civil war and during fighting between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban before they was ousted from power in 2001.

The Taliban now plant bombs, or improvised explosive devices, to target Afghan troops and their NATO backers but which regularly kill civilians.

Car bomb hits US company in Kabul: police

A car bomb has exploded at a compound owned by a US-based construction company under contract to the Afghan army, killing at least one person and wounding 15, police say.

Five foreigners including Americans and South Africans were among the wounded on Monday, a security source at the company told AFP.

It was the most brazen assault targeting Westerners in the fortified Afghan capital since a suicide car bomber killed 12 people, including eight South Africans, on September 18.

"We don't yet know whether there was someone in the truck or it was detonated remotely. We are investigating this right now. They were very powerful explosives."

CONTRACK is a US-owned company which builds Afghan army and police facilities, an employee said.

"We were sitting in the office. There was a massive explosion. The ceiling collapsed over us and 10 to 12 Afghans in the office were wounded," he said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a suicide car bombing carried out by a "hero mujahid" on "an important American company which provided security services to the invading forces".

"This company was under the surveillance of the mujahedin for a while and thanks God today the opportunity was provided to attack it," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force confirmed the explosion, but said it was not at NATO's Camp Phoenix, which is also in the area in the east of the capital near the scene of the bombing.

An AFP reporter at the scene said there were signs of a huge explosion beyond an area blocked off by police, and some bystanders outside the compound had also suffered minor injuries.

In May, Taliban bombers disguised in burqas attacked a heavily fortified guesthouse used by Westerners in the same area. Seven people were killed at the "Green Village" complex used by the European Union, the United Nations and aid groups.

A US-led NATO force of some 100,000 troops is backing the Kabul government against the Taliban insurgents, but they are due to pull out in 2014 and are training the Afghan army and police to take over responsibility for security.

A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites.